Rod forming mechanism



Dec. 16, 1947. F. F. RUAU ROD FORMING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 4, 1942 F. F. RUAU 2,432,938

ROD FORMING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 4, 1942 5 she ets-Sheet s 108 124)?" Eymm M;

B90015 qwarm Patented Dec. 16, 1947 ROD FORMING MECHANISM Flix FrdricRuau, Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molins Machine Company,Limited, Deptford, London, England Application August 4, 1942, SerialNo. 453,574 In Great Britain July 30, 1941 1 Claim. 1

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to rod formingmechanism for forming a tobacco filler (i. e. an unwrapped filler), inwhich the tobacco stream is advanced and passed beneath a compressionwheel whilst being partly encompassed by a band which from its curvedcross-sectional form is flattened out, and in which the band at thecurved portion is supported by a fixed member or members which cause itto maintain the desired cross-sectional shape and in which the sideportions of the band pass through spaces between side guides and saidmember or members after commencing to flatten out. Such mechanism willbe referred to hereinafter as rod forming mechanism as specified.

In such mechanism the band may be arranged to commence its opening outto the flat crosssection prior to the engagement of the tobacco fillerwith the compression wheel, or it may start to open out just after thecompression point. In the latter case, which, it is considered, providesmore satisfactory compression, it is desirable in order to preventinjury or undue wear on the band to shield the upstanding walls thereofby side guides. These save wear on the edges of the band by the wheeland also tend to prevent the edges of the band from curling over andensure that in such an event the compression wheel is prevented fromengaging the curled over edge and thus destroying the band. As, however,the edges of the band have to be guided intothe spaces formed by theband supporting memher and the side guides, it will be seen that it iseasily possible for a bulky piece of tobacco, particularly a piece ofstem, to get jammed between a side guide and the band. This might injureor wear the band and it will very likely project into the filler andhold up the movement of the latter since at this position the grip onthe filler by the band is quite light seeing that the filler has not yetbeen subjected to compression.

In order to obtain good results, the size of the spaces (formed by thefirst said member and said side guides) through which the sides of theband pass during flattening out, is important, because if the gap is toolarge, a piece of stem or the like might get jammed as described aboveand also the compression on the tobacco will be released and the fillerrendered uneven, and if too narrow the band will not pass throughproperly and undue wear and tear occurs.

According to the present invention there is provided rod formingmechanism as specified, wherein the dimensions of the spaces formed bythe band supporting member or members and the side guides are controlledby arranging the said member or members, or a part thereof, or the sideguides, to be adjustably mounted, whereby the spaces can be accuratelyset for a particular set of circumstances. The band supporting membermay comprise separate pieces which are inset in the side walls of theband supporting member, said pieces being adjustable lengthwise of theband supporting member to enable the dimensions of the spaces betweenthe said pieces and the adjacent edges of the side guides to beregulated.

Rod forming mechanism made in accordance with the present invention willnow be described by way of example with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of the rod forming mechanism of acontinuous rod cigarette making machine showing one form of theinvention.

Figure 2 is a plan of Figure 1, certain parts being omitted.

Figure 3 is a section of Figure 1 on the line 3-3.

Figure 4 shows a detail of the side guide on the right-hand side inFigure 3.

Figure 5 shows a detail of the adjustable piece which is fitted to theband supporting member on the left-hand side in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an end elevation of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the center line ofFigure 2.

Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11 are sections on the lines 8-8, 9-9, Ill-40, andll-ll respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 12 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1, similar to the sectionshown in Figure 3, but showing only the lower part of said figure and ona larger scale.

Figures 13, 14 and 15 are sections on the lines I3I3, l4-l4 and 15-15respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 16 is a section on the line l6 l6, Figure 1, but as viewed in theopposite direction from the other sections.

Figure 17 is a section on the line Iii-l6, Figure 1, which is the samesection line as that for Figure 16 but viewed in the opposite direction.

Figures 18 and 19 are sections on the lines l8l8 and l9l9 respectivelyof Figure 1.

In all the Figures 10 to 15, the compression wheel has been omitted forclearness. Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the rod forming apparatus about to bedescribed is apparatus for forming a filler rod of tobacco on acontinuous rod cigarette making machine and comprises a trough l alongwhich an endless band 2 travels, the bandbeing bent to substantially Ushape in the trough, and the sides of the band being held upwardly bythe side walls 3, Figure 3, of the trough; the band supporting membersin which trough l is formed are indicated at 11-. left-hand end of thetrough, as viewed in Figure 1, the band is allowed to flatten out so"that it can pass over a roller 4' and the.-tobacco at this point isdelivered over a bridge 5 on to a paper web 6 travelling over a smallrollers" and onto another endless band 1. At the; position marked 8,Figure 1, where the band commences to flatten out, a compression roller9 (having a periphery concave incross-section in a, plane including theaxis of the roller) is provided'to press the tobacco. stream and form itinto a filler rod of. desired shape. In order to guide the tobacco andkeep it in proper formation under the compression wheel, sideguides II]are provided at each side of the wheel and in the closest possibleproximity thereto. Aside guide is shown in detail at Figure 4. Theguides in are fixed to At thesupporting members mounted on the member III. The guides extend downwardly to the band and. are arranged in closeproximity to the band at the point 8 wherethesides of the band begin toflatten out. The side guides therefore virtually form a continuation ofthe sides of the endless band in thetrough. In order to ensure that thegaps 15 (best seen in Figure 14) between the side walls of the troughand theside guides, at the place where the band first passes behindsaidv guides,,are of the correct size, the sides of the trough are cutaway at l6 and provided with adjustable inset pieces H on the inside ofthe trough walls, see Figures 13, 14, and 15. One of these adjustablepieces is shown in detail at Figures 5' and 6; These adjustable piecesare bolted to the side walls of the trough through apluralit'y ofslottedconnections indicated 'at l2, Figure. 1. Thus these adjustablepiecescan be accurately adjusted for each particular case so that thegap between apiece l1 and the adjacent edge of a side guide. lllmay bemade as narrow as-possibleand; by this means theband can be properlyscraped by the sideguides so as to prevent tobacco from passing betweenthe guides and. the band (which would tend to upset the formation of thefiller rod) and at the same-time the. pressure between the side guidesand the band. can be controlled so as to prevent undue wear on the banditself. Thus the parts are adjusted to get the bestpossible control overthe tobacco consistent with reasonable service from a. band. Thearrangement may befollowed by reference to Figure Z-Where it will beseenthat the band 2 runs between guides l3, which engage the band edges andcontrol the bandwhile it runs along the supporting member which embodiesthe. trough l, the trough at this point being in the form of a concaveroove which graduallynarrows as the bandapproaches the compressionwheel. A plate 14 covers the guides and band for part of the way, andimmediately to the left of this plate the band is engaged by the opposedfaces of the adjustable pieces II and it is then of substantially U-formin cross-section. The tobacco after passing the compression roller 9-may be fed under a controlling member (not shown) which, together withthe side guides It), can provide a confining passage in which the speedof the tobacco is reduced, such as in the construction described inUnited States Letters Patent No. 2,149,924;

It will be seen: that instead of providing the adjustable pieces ll theycould be permanently fixed to; the;band supporting member [1 or thelatter could: be made with integral parts similar in shape to the saidpieces. In either case the side guides l0 may be made adjustable tosecure the purpose in view.

Asmay beseenfrom Figures 1; and 13, a slot 3| is formed. in. the part I!located at the point where. the bandv 2 passes beyond the end of theguide I I. Theslotzenables the machine operator to observe the band atthis critical point.

What. I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters:Patent is:

Rod forming mechanism comprising a rod forming channel including a fixedband-supporting'member and: an endless travelling band so supportedthereby as to causesaid' band to assume the desired cross-sectionalshape at different positions along the: channel, a rotatable compressionwheel cooperatingwith said channel to compress thetobacco filler as itvpasses along the channel, side guides to shield the sides of the band'from the action. of the compression wheel, insets constituting; parts ofthe walls of the band-supportingv member, said' insets being spaced;from. said. guides; said insets and guides having confronting edgesdefining passages between the insets-and guides,.which passages extendoutwardly of thechannel, said passages being traversedby the sides ofthe'band, and means adjustably supporting: said. insets. fordisplacement with respect tosaidl guides, whereby the dimensions oftheispaces between said insets and the adjacent. edges of. the. sideguides where the band firstpasses behind the side. guides, can beregulated.

FELIX FREDERIC RUAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATESv PATENTS

